Calibre of CTO cast has house on feet
TANDING ovations on opening nights have become more or less de rigueur in Cape Town theatres, and so are not necessarily indicative of the merit of a given performance.
However, in the case of the premiere of Cape Town Opera’s Porgy and Bess, the sustained applause and spontaneous rising of the audience were fully justified – an endorsement of glowing comments from various critics around the world who have been impressed by the calibre of this production.
Even before the first note has sounded, Michael Mitchell’s stage set and the stylised “curtains” evoke 1970s Soweto and its distinctive community, the milieu into which Dubose Heyward’s libretto is imaginatively transplanted.
Catfish Row turns out to be a derelict building illegally occupied by a group of squatters. Their lifestyle and values square plausibly with those of the fishing community portrayed in the original Porgy and Bess, although there are some incongruities, chief of which is the recurrent reference to sailing and the fact that these folk generate their meagre earnings from fishing – not the industry normally associated with urban society.
That aside, there is no denying the universality of issues such as a hard life often fraught with tragedy and injustice, and the contrasting escape routes from it, namely religion and pleasures of the flesh.
The main strength of Christine Crouse’s production is the unusual degree of ensemble it offers, not just in the quality of vocal performance, which by now most opera-lovers
SPORGY AND BESS
DIRECTOR: Christine Crouse CONDUCTORS: Albert Horne and Tim Murray CAST: Members of Cape Town Opera and the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra and the Cape Town Opera Chorus VENUE: Artscape Opera House UNTIL: Saturday RATING: ★★★★✩ have come to expect of CTO’s chorus; it is the sense of an organically cohesive community that gives it a unique character.
The work might be titled Porgy and Bess, but individual personae in its cast stand out severally to rival the pre-eminence of the leads: Clara (Philisa Sibeko), the young mother whose soulful rendition of Summertime is an early highlight, matched later by the same aria from Bess (Nonhlanhla Yende); Sportin’ Life (Tshepo Moagi),the flashy and sinister drug-dealer who lures Bess away from Catfish Row; Serena (Arline Jaftha), arguably the most tragic figure in the community; and voluptuous Maria (Miranda Tini), who brings colour and spirit to the drab environment.
Each of these secondary characters contributes to the collective personality of the society to which they belong, their portrayal well-judged and convincing, their singing excellent. As for the leads, Xolela Sixaba’s Porgy is the perfect foil to Yende’s Bess.
Even without the enhancement of arresting tableaux and the sterling support of chorus and orchestra, this pair would carry the production. A wonderful evening of song, drama and sentiment.